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Dogs Trust withdraws

frecklesmom

frecklesmom

Well-known member
From Dogs World,UK

TWO MAJOR charities have pulled out of next year’s Crufts and November’s Discover Dogs.
Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest canine welfare group, announced on Tuesday that it was to join the RSPCA in boycotting the shows and also withdrew from its joint venture with the Kennel Club – the Westminster Dog of the Year, which traditionally takes place in October.
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Ah, here is Dogs Trust's statement (y)

Dogs Trust Withdraws From Kennel Club Events Including Crufts

Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity has announced it will be withdrawing from Crufts and Discover Dogs. Dogs Trust will also not be involved in this year’s Westminster Dog of the Year Show. This follows consultation with the charity’s Trustees and requests from its supporters.
Dogs Trust believes that this removal of support is the strongest signal it can give to the Kennel Club and breeders to achieve immediate action to ensure that the health and wellbeing of pedigree dogs is ranked over appearance and artificial breed standards.
Dogs Trust hopes that this will lead to rapid changes in the manner in which dogs are bred and is in talks with Defra and The Kennel Club to help bring about the following much needed changes:
1. The review of breed standards to ensure they are firmly focused on the health and wellbeing of the dog, not the supposed aesthetics of the breed. Breeders and show judges must be required to adhere to these revised breed standards.
2. The introduction of secondary legislation, so as to prevent inappropriate breeding practices, especially the intentional inbreeding of closely related dogs or dogs with known debilitating genetic illnesses.
3. The introduction of genetic screening of all breeding stock and the assured integrity of such a process.
4. Purchasers of dogs should first consider a rescue dog. If it is a pedigree, they must understand the importance of determining and questioning its genetic heritage.
Dogs Trust has had a long history of working with The Kennel Club in order to promote rescue dogs at pedigree shows and we hope to be able to continue this relationship as soon as these vital animal welfare points have been put in place.
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There was also this bit in the story from dogs world

And just as DOG WORLD went to press, Battersea Dogs Home said it was in the process of reviewing and deciding upon its attendance at future shows and events.
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I checked Battersea site but they have nothing on there yet about it.
 
London Times piece today:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4761471.ece

Any decision to withdraw or limit the coverage could be devastating for sponsors of Crufts, which include Samsung and various pet food companies. Barclays, which supported the show this year, said the sponsorship was a one-off and would not be repeated.
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Or other sponsors will also just pull out, more likely.

And in the midst of this, the CKCS Club has decided to hold a special general meeting to remove the person who actually stood up for breed health? :sl*p: As I keep saying, they are walking off a PR cliff and how the club will survive imploding from such ignorance, I don't know. They will be totally hammered by the British public, no matter the comments club members pass amongst themselves on other lists to reassure themselves. They simply have NO idea how the world sees them and their actions and seem oblivious to the revulsion they caused to the Uk public who watched Pedigree Dogs Exposed. At least the KC is now beginning to make an effort.

It certainly would be a good time for the formation of a more health focused breed registry.
 
They will be totally hammered by the British public, no matter the comments club members pass amongst themselves on other lists to reassure themselves. They simply have NO idea how the world sees them and their actions and seem oblivious to the revulsion they caused to the Uk public who watched Pedigree Dogs Exposed.
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They haven't got a clue when to stop digging! Any gesture taken by Dog's trust and RSPCA will make no difference whatsoever to the Cavalier Club.
(Perhaps have some impact on the kennel Club)
I know I'm probably very out of step here but I think it's all a contrived publicity stunt.
What deeply disturbs me are the comments at the bottom of the article.

"Any body who breeds a deformed animal should be jailed and be band from owning pet for the rest of their lives"
and
"The people who buy these poor inbred animals should be ashamed of themselves. They create a demand for the breeders because of their own vanity."

That's us bearing the brunt of the criticism folks,not cavalier breeders/exhibitors. It's all our own fault for wanting a pedigree dog for our vanity.As far as I'm concerned it's going along the lines of PETA and that Dublin rescue group who told pedigree owners that we're sentencing some poor mutt to death because we bought pedigree dogs.


Sins
 
I wonder if these rescues will now health test all the pedigree dogs it rehomes, anything less would smack of hypocrisy surely?
 
sins said:
"The people who buy these poor inbred animals should be ashamed of themselves. They create a demand for the breeders because of their own vanity."

That's us bearing the brunt of the criticism folks,not cavalier breeders/exhibitors. It's all our own fault for wanting a pedigree dog for our vanity.As far as I'm concerned it's going along the lines of PETA and that Dublin rescue group who told pedigree owners that we're sentencing some poor mutt to death because we bought pedigree dogs.
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We've been advocates of health focused breeders all along. We are creating a demand for pets from properly health tested cavaliers.

If I went out tomorrow and bought a puppy from a breeder who is not health testing and following protocols, then -yes- I would/could be one of the people this person is describing.

We know better than to do that today. We support health focused breeders.

There have always been people who don't understand why someone else would want a pedigreed dog. Members of my own family feel that way. I just don't discuss the topic with them. :flwr:
 
Karlin said:
And in the midst of this, the CKCS Club has decided to hold a special general meeting to remove the person who actually stood up for breed health? :sl*p: As I keep saying, they are walking off a PR cliff and how the club will survive imploding from such ignorance, I don't know. They will be totally hammered by the British public, no matter the comments club members pass amongst themselves on other lists to reassure themselves. They simply have NO idea how the world sees them and their actions and seem oblivious to the revulsion they caused to the Uk public who watched Pedigree Dogs Exposed. At least the KC is now beginning to make an effort.

It certainly would be a good time for the formation of a more health focused breed registry.
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You've got that right. Here's hoping someone makes a motion to back-pedal out of this! :xfngr:
 
I do health test the rescue dogs I home to the full extent possible -- all are vet and heart checked, many are professionally temperament tested. I will assess to the best that I am able whether I believe a dog has SM. That is why I currently have Lily and not some family -- I suspected from the first week I had her that her scratching was not normal but SM scratching and therefore she was not rehomed. Most good rescues vet check and I know Dogs Trust and probably the RSPCA vet check all dogs that come through.

I strongly believe that people who buy pedigree dogs have just as much responsibility for supporting (or not!) the breed through their decision of where to buy, as breeders do in choosing how they breed. Pet buyers have got to take responsibility for the knock on effects of their decision -- choose a BYB or a pet store breeder or a club breeder who breeds underaged dogs, breeds to close relatives, ignores the MVD protocol, breeds dogs known to have Sm that would be considered high risk breeding dogs, and you have colluded with those shoddy breeders and breeding practices.

It is one thing to do this when underinformed, since most people place trust in most breeders, not realising what a minefield finding a reputable breeder is. It is another to know the impact such people have on this poor breed but to deliberately choose to buy from them for convenience, lower price, or whatever reason. The buyer ultimately has just as much impact on the future of the breed as the breeder/seller.
 
"choose a BYB or a pet store breeder or a club breeder who breeds underaged dogs, breeds to close relatives, ignores the MVD protocol, breeds dogs known to have Sm that would be considered high risk breeding dogs, and you have colluded with those shoddy breeders and breeding practices."

Karlin, I picked this out because I agree with it. I will say, though, that depending on where you live, you may have to decide not to get a Cavalier. Not wanting to collude is the reason I currently only have one Cavalier.

I understand in the UK Cavaliers are somewhat popular and therefore there are more breeders to pick through, but in places where they are rarer it is past difficult finding a breeder that does not fail somewhere on that above criteria.

I have been looking here for 3 years for one within a day or twos drive of me that would get a pass, and have been completely unsuccessful. I have been looking for MRIs but have been told that is incredibly impractical here, but even lowering my expectations to just those who consistently breed by the MVD guidelines has caused me to exclude every breeder close.

It begins to make me understand why some decide it is too much work and do end up "colluding" even though they know better.

I am glad for the pressure that Dogs Trust and the RSPCA are putting on the KC in the UK to have some sort of breeder regulations. I am hoping repercussions are felt through the AKC and CKC here.

Riley's mom Sissee
 
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